Post-Covid Evangelism
Matthew 28:16-20
Introduction: What we have in our text this morning is the last command or mandate if you will, given to His disciples before He ascends back to the Father. His ascension is recorded for us in Acts 1:4-11…
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
But before He leaves though He tells the disciples what He wants them to be doing until He returns. And this mandate is not just for them alone but for all Christ followers in every age. How successful were they? They “turned the world upside down!” In the Savior’s name they conquered the Roman Empire until the emperor himself became a follower of Jesus. History tells us just how far they traveled with the message of the Gospel.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
I. The Authority
The word “power” in verse 18 can be translated authority. He had risen from the dead and all authority was His by virtue of Him conquering death, hell and the grave. He is the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings and He bids us go! If we are His servants them we are obligated to hear and heed His voice and obey His command! The question is, “What part of go don’t we understand?”
II. The Activity
The activity is three-fold.
a. Make disciples through evangelism
RESCUE THE PERISHING
Fanny Crosby, the blind hymn writer, wrote so many hymns we love to sing. When she was up in years, she visited the Macaulay Rescue Mission in NYC. She stood before a crowd of homeless, drug-addicted, alcoholic men. She said, “is there a young man here who doesn’t have a mother?” One young man timidly raised his hand. He explained that his mother died when he was very young.
Fanny Crosby asked the young man to come to the front. She gave him a big hug and kissed him on the cheek. It touched her heart so much that she went home that night and wrote these words, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave, weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the Mighty to save.”
Years later, Ira Sankey was singing for D.L. Moody in St. Louis. He rose to sing that song, but before he sang, he told that story. As he told the story, a middle-aged man jumped up and shouted, “It was me! I’m the young man she wrote about. She kissed me. I could never get away from that moment.”
As a result of one simple kiss.....a young man came to Christ and his entire life was changed!
In 1879, Charlie Peace, a well-known criminal in London, faced execution by hanging. When he was marched to the gallows, a minister walked behind him. In keeping with custom, the minister read aloud this passage from a prayer book, "Those who die without Christ experience hell, which is the pain of forever dying without the release which death itself can bring." When the minister read these chilling words, Charlie Peace stopped marching, turned to the minister, and shouted, "Do you believe that?"
The startled minister stammered for a moment, then said, "Well, I suppose I do."
"Well, I don't," said the criminal. "But if I did, I'd get down on my hands and knees and crawl all over Great Britain, even if it were paved with pieces of broken glass, if I could rescue just one person from what you just told me."
Davon Huss
b. Mark disciples through baptism
c. Mature disciples through edification
Brian Jones tells the story of one elderly gentleman who came forward and was baptized. This older gentleman lived alone. After one service Brian and his family invited this elderly man out to eat. Turns out that this elderly man was soon going on vacation to Florida. The man was excited about going to the beaches in Florida. Brian used to live in Florida so began to ask the man which beaches he would visit. The man said that he was going to visit beaches where the clothing was optional. Finally, Brian asked, “Hey, are you a nudist?” This man said, “Well, yes I am.” And then he got his wallet and pulled a card that said, “National Association of Recreational Nudists.” This man attended the church for 3 years and was even baptized and saw nothing wrong with being a nudist.
The moral is that our churches are good at baptizing them but poor at teaching them to observe.
III. The Availability
THE LACK OF EVANGELISM
(Evangelism Statistics from Michael Parrot, Acts Evangelism, Spokane, WA, 1993, pp. 9-11.)
• Ninety-five percent of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ.
• Eighty percent of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ.
• Less than two percent are involved in the ministry of evangelism.
One denomination did a survey on its leadership:
• 63% of the leadership (pastors, elders, and deacons) have not led one stranger to Jesus in the last two years
• 89% of the leadership have zero time reserved in their weekly priorities for going out to evangelize
• 97% believe that if the leadership had a greater conviction and involvement in evangelism, that it would be an example for the church to follow.
(From a sermon by Glenn Durham, Order in the Church! 10/26/2010)
“The church has been likened to a football game in which thousands of spectators in need of exercise are watching a handful of players in need of rest.” Daily Walk Bible
The Missed Opportunity in Mongolian History
A 13-year-old Mongolian inherited land from his father. Through great strategy and awesome fighting ability, he formed fighting bands that conquered village after village. Eventually he became known as Genghis Khan and ruled over 2 million people. His empire stretched from China to India and from Siberia to the edges of Western Europe. Meanwhile in Western Europe a great revival was occurring under the preaching of men like St. Francis of Assisi. At his death, the bulk of Khan’s empire went to his grandson, Kublai Khan. He had 2 Italians in his court named Polo (the father and uncle of Marco) that told him of Christ. Kublai was very interested and he sent them back to Europe with a request to bring 100 missionaries saying, "When we learn about Christianity, there will be more Christians in my empire than in all Europe."
The Polo’s returned to Europe to enlist men willing to share the gospel. They begged and pleaded but only 2 friars and Marco would follow them back to the Orient. So these 5 men began their long journey but the 2 friars turned back. When the 3 men arrived in Kublai’s realm, Kublai asked "Where are the missionaries?"
No one came. No one cared enough. Despite the great revival going on in Europe no one was willing to serve the Lord. Oh eventually, the church did send a small handful of missionaries but by then it was too late. Can you imagine what the largest communist nation today would be like if it were the largest Christian nation?
From a sermon by Adam Cain, M’s of Evangelism, 12/4/2009
Scriptures: Matthew 28:19-20
IV. The Assurance
What made the difference for them? Why were they willing to go to the ends of the earth with this simple message? Why were they so effective? The answer to all three questions is found in their confidence that they were never alone, no matter what their circumstances were. He kept His promise to them!
NO OTHER PLAN
An old legend imagines Jesus arriving in heaven right after the Ascension, welcomed by all the angels. Then the angel Gabriel asks Jesus, "You suffered much, dying for the sins of mankind. Does everyone down on earth know it?"
"Oh, no," replied the Savior, "just a handful of folks in Jerusalem and Galilee know about it."
"Well, Master," continued Gabriel, "what is your plan for everyone to know of your great love?"
The Master replies, "I asked all my apostles to carry the message into all the world. I told them to tell others, who will in turn tell others until the last person in the farthest corner has heard the story."
Gabriel’s face clouds, for he spots a flaw in the plan. "What if after a while Peter forgets, and goes back to his fishing on Galilee, also James and John and Andrew? Suppose Matthew returns to his tax booth in Capernaum, and all the others lose their zeal and just don’t tell others. What then?"
After a pause comes the calm voice of the Lord Jesus, "Gabriel, I have no other plan."
(From Leslie B. Flynn, The Twelve, pp. 22f.)
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN...
“I realize there is never going to be a day when I stand before God and He looks at me and says, ’I wish you would have kept more for yourself.’ I’m confident that God will take care of me.”
¯ David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
“We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead, we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship.”
¯ David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
